


Forget-Me-Not

by conceptstage



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 09:06:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17241440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptstage/pseuds/conceptstage
Summary: Who's Caleb?





	Forget-Me-Not

Beau huffed heavily as she sat down at the tavern table with her friends, smiling tiredly at Jester when the blue tiefling gave her a bright and joyous ‘Good Morning’. A plate of food was sat in front of her and she sighed as she dug in. There was an itching at the back of her mind and she paused, glancing up and looking over her friends. 

Jester was chatting amiably with Nott as the green goblin tried her best to stay awake. Fjord was talking to Yasha about their travel plans for the day. Caduceus walked over and took a seat beside her, taking a deep breath of the vapor above his cup of tea and sighed happily.

Something was missing. Someone was missing. A name came to her lips before her mind caught up. “Where’s Caleb?”

Jester looked up at her, confused. “Who’s Caleb?”

Beau blinked. “I… I don’t know. I just got the feeling… nevermind.”

Jester shrugged and went back to her talk with Nott, gasping when she found the goblin fast asleep on her plate. Beau couldn’t let it go, though. Who was Caleb? As she tried to hold onto the name and pull it closer, it tried to slip away. The memory wiggled in her grasp like a fish but she held on tight and pulled.

Like an explosion in her mind, she saw flashes of memory. A face, nervous and unshaven, hidden under a curtain of soft red curls. Angry blue eyes. ‘I need these’ said a hard voice in an accent she couldn’t place. Zemnian, she remembered, but she’d never met anyone from there, why would she know the accent? A pale hand on her shoulder and she laid her own over it, ‘I’ve got you’ she said to his grateful nod. A tiny owl in her hand, ‘You may have him for one week’ said the anxious voice. ‘Thank you, Caleb.’

Finally, the clearest vision of all came to the front of her mind’s eye. She woke up in bed last night to a shape standing above her. She gasped and sat up, ready to fight, but sighed and rolled her eyes when she recognized the figure. ‘Damn it, Caleb’ she’s said to his serious frown. ‘What is it? What do you want?’

He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He looked away. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, finally turning back to her. With a flick of his fingers, he threw a white powder into her eyes.

‘What the fuck!’ she exclaimed, coughing when some got in her throat. She rubbed at her eyes and when she opened them he was gone. The only sound was Jester’s quiet snoring across the room. ‘What am I doing awake?’ she asked, out loud, before laying back down and rolling over onto her side.

She came back to her present self and realized that everyone in the tavern was staring at her. In her shock, she’d jumped out of her chair and was now standing above them all.

“Beau?” Fjord asked cautiously. “You alright there?”

“Caleb,” she said, gasping for breath. “Where’s Caleb?”

Jester frowned at her. “Beau, who’s Caleb?”

The memory was trying to escape but she mentally clamped down on it. Caleb. Caleb. Caleb, don’t forget. Who was Caleb? How did she know him? Did she know him, was she just losing her mind?

Caduceus’ large hand grabbed her face. She felt the warm spell spreading down her face and neck to the tips of her fingers and bottom of her toes. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice muffled against his palm.

“Greater Restoration,” he answered calmly. “Whatever is happening to you will be over soon.”

The warmth of the spell faded away and whatever was trying to block Beau’s memory went with it. She blinked as the firbolg removed his hand. “That son of a bitch,” she hissed. “He did something to us all last night, blocked our memory of him.”

Caduceus lowered her back into her chair and turned it around to face him. “What did he do?”

“There was this… white powdery stuff. He put it in my eyes.”

Caduceus nodded. “That sounds like Forget-Me-Not powder. My parents used to use it on trauma survivors to help them forget their fear. It’s not easy to make, to make enough for us all to completely forget him he must have been working in secret for weeks.”

Fjord crossed his arms, unconvinced. “How do we know she’s not just going crazy? I don’t know anyone named Caleb.”

Nott was awake now and staring at her, with smashed breakfast potatoes pressed her face. “No,” she said quietly, wiping the potatoes from her cheek and pushing them into her mouth. “No, I know that name… I don’t… It’s gone, but I’m sure I knew it for a second.” Jester reached over and cast a restoration spell of her own on Nott. The goblin’s eyes widened and she jumped up onto the table. “Caleb!” she exclaimed frantically. “We have to find him! Where is he? What if he’s in trouble?”

Fjord looked confused but convinced and nodded. “I’ll pay the tab.”

Beau rushed towards the door of the tavern and started looking around the empty morning streets. Nott stepped up beside her and took her hand. “We’ll find him,” Beau said to reassure them both. “And when we do he’s got some fucking explaining to do.”


End file.
